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Nathan Lavallee of Westford, Vt, was honored recently by the US Environmental Protection Agency for his work maintaining the Burlington, Vt, Wastewater Treatment Facility. Lavallee, who is chief operator of the Burlington facility, was honored by EPA’s New England office with a 2017 Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator of the Year Excellence Award for his outstanding work over the years in operating and maintaining the Burlington facility.

The EPA Regional Wastewater Awards Program recognizes personnel in the wastewater field who have provided invaluable public service managing and operating wastewater treatment facilities throughout New England. The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation was instrumental in Lavallee’s nomination.

“The professionals operating wastewater treatment plants play a very important role in keeping our communities and environment healthy by protecting water quality,” said Alexandra Dunn, regional administrator of EPA's New England Office. “We are proud to acknowledge Mr Lavallee's outstanding contributions to help protect public health and water quality for so many years and to give him the credit he deserves.”

The EPA Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant Excellence Award was established to recognize and honor the employees of publicly owned wastewater treatment plants for their commitment to improving water quality with outstanding plant operations and maintenance. More often than not, and particularly with the smaller facilities, conscientious operators and staff continue to perform exceptionally with limited resources. EPA’s New England office formally acknowledged Lavallee for his work during the annual New England Water Environment Association Conference last month.